J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday.

SJM has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen cut J. M. Smucker from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on J. M. Smucker from $123.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of J. M. Smucker from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.13.

J. M. Smucker Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SJM opened at $112.14 on Monday. J. M. Smucker has a 12 month low of $98.77 and a 12 month high of $127.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.06. The company has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. J. M. Smucker had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 5.96%. On average, equities analysts expect that J. M. Smucker will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

J. M. Smucker Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. J. M. Smucker’s payout ratio is -179.25%.

Insider Activity

In other J. M. Smucker news, CFO Tucker H. Marshall sold 994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $112,322.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,116,942. The trade was a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of J. M. Smucker by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its stake in shares of J. M. Smucker by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 17,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in J. M. Smucker by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of J. M. Smucker by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

J. M. Smucker Company Profile

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients.